Her fingers stroking the length of his cock were wreaking an incredible and delicious havoc on him. He didn’t know how much longer he could bear this sweet torture she was inflicting upon him. Finally he took control again, drawing her arms up above her head as he mounted her and plunged into her wet, hot sheath. He groaned as its walls closed tightly about him. Annabella sighed with the intimacy of their contact. She was sweeter and warmer than any woman he had ever known.
Her legs wrapped about him as she reveled in his need. So this was passion. No wonder women were unable to speak clearly about it. It was indeed indescribable. He had released his hold on her hands, and she was now able to hold him closer to her. Her fingers kneaded his broad shoulders.
He wanted to be gentle, for she was still newly opened, but he simply couldn’t restrain himself when her legs closed around him. He began to thrust into her. Deeper. Harder. Deeper. Harder, until she was making little sounds of pleasure that only encouraged him to greater efforts. Her nails raked down his back as her body almost rose to meet his every thrust.
He had said it would not hurt again, and it didn’t this time. His fierce, passionate need sent her senses reeling with delight. She could have never imagined that coupling would be as delicious as it was. Her head was spinning. Her body felt as if it were going to explode with pleasure. How could that be? But then it did. Her body seemed to erupt from the inside out, leaving her overwhelmed by a riot of emotions she couldn’t sort out. She soared. She flew. It was simply too much for anyone to bear.
Angus roared with his own release as his throbbing cock exploded its juices deep into her, flooding her secret garden with his lustful tribute. He shuddered, then groaned a deep sound of utter satisfaction.
Annabella burst into tears.
“Jesu! Have I hurt ye?” His cock was still tingling, and he was not yet able to withdraw himself from her.
“Nay! Nay!” she reassured him through her sobs. “It’s just that I have never known such pure pleasure as I have now experienced. Tell me you have known this happiness too, and I have not greedily taken it all for myself. That would be so unfair.”
He laughed weakly. “Oh, sweeting,” he told her, “I cannot ever recall having been so pleased by a woman. I look forward to sharing many more such moments as we have just had. Your innocence last night was a great gift, Annabella. I thank ye for it. But to awaken before dawn to find you eager for passion was a gift I had not expected. I thank ye again.” He was now able to roll off of her, but when he did he drew her into his embrace, kissing the top of her head as he did so. The delicious fragrance surrounding her assailed his nostrils again. Plain of face his wife might be, Angus Ferguson thought.But what a wife I have been given. I want bairns of her body, and we shall have them.
They fell asleep again in each other’s arms. When Annabella finally awoke she found herself alone. The light outside of her bedchamber window told her it was well past dawn. She realized that she did indeed feel a bit sore between her legs, and her limbs were a trifle stiff. Blushing, she remembered her boldness with him, but he had been content with her behavior. Still, was it permissible for a wife to be so bold with her husband? After the initial shock, Annabella had decided that she enjoyed coupling. She wanted more of him.Mother of mercy!Was such desire on her part a natural thing? She had so much to learn, and Jean would certainly be able to elucidate it all for her.
The door to her bedchamber opened. “Ye’re awake,” Jean said smiling, “and none the worse for wear, I can see,” she teased. “The earl would like to know if ye’re of a mind to ride out wi’ him, though it be close to midmorning.”
“Aye,” Annabella said, and she jumped from her bed, heedless of her nudity.
Jean’s eyes widened briefly, for although she had served her young mistress for two months now and seen her in various states of undress, she had never seen her fully as nature had fashioned her.Oh, my!she thought. And then Jean chuckled to herself. No wonder Angus had come into the hall whistling that morning. Were men not simple in their needs? Angus had discovered his plain-faced wife had a beautiful body, and it was obviously more than enough to content him. “Ye’ll want a bath,” she said.
“Tonight, but for now I will use my basin. I dinna wish to keep my husband waiting,” Annabella said, already pouring water into the basin.
“Be sure to cleanse the blood from yer thighs,” Jean advised, then turned quickly away to gather up the bloodied sheets from the bed.Gracious, she thought at the sight of the brown stains. Angus had indeed done his duty to Duin quite thoroughly, and Annabella did not look unhappy for it. Rather she looked very happy this morning. There was a small smile upon her lips, and she was humming to herself as she bathed using the basin.
Jean laid out a fresh chemise, stockings, breeks, a linen shirt, and a fur-lined, sleeved jerkin. She set her mistress’s boots by the bed, where Annabella was now quickly dressing. “Shall I go tell Angus that ye’ll be down shortly?” she asked.
“Aye, but then come back to help me wi’ my boots and my hair,” Annabella said.
Jean hurried out, carrying the sheets. She brought them to the castle laundress, who, seeing the bloodstains, looked questioningly at the countess’s tiring woman. “Not a word,” Jean warned her. “The deed is now done, and ’tis all that matters.”
The laundress nodded silently. She wasn’t about to gossip, lest she harm her daughter Una’s chances with the lady of Duin.
Jean went back up to the hall and, seeing her brother, said, “The lady will be down as soon as I get her boots on and plait her hair, my lord.”
“I’ll await her in the courtyard,” Angus Ferguson replied.
Jean ran back up the staircase to her mistress’s apartment. She helped Annabella with her boots. Then she brushed out her sable tresses, braiding them into a single plait. “Dinna ride too far,” she warned Annabella, handing her a pair of doeskin riding gloves that had been dyed a bright red. “Ye’ll get sore. He’s in the courtyard.”
Annabella hurried down the stairs and out into the courtyard, where the earl was already mounted. A stableman helped her into her saddle. Snow danced skittishly, eager for her morning run. “I’m ready, my lord,” she said, her eyes meeting his.
They rode out, and Annabella saw that the flocks of sheep and the herds of cattle were now back from the sheiling, as the summer meadows were called, and safely settled in the home pastures. The animals were fat with their months of grazing. When the snows came the earl would have them moved into the barns to protect them from the wolves that would boldly roam the winter hills.
“Ye’re well this morning?” he asked her politely as they rode.
“As well, I hope, as ye are, my lord,” she answered him.
He chuckled. “Then ye were content wi’ our bed sport, madam?”
“As well, I hope, as ye were, my lord,” she replied.
He glanced sharply at her serene face. Her twinkling gray eyes met his and he laughed aloud. “Ye’re a bold wench, madam,” he told her. Then his eyes went to her little round breasts, and he felt his cock stirring. How sweet her flesh had tasted in his mouth last night. Had the morning not been cold with a sharp wind coming from the north, he would have been tempted to take her on this hillside amid the heather. Briefly he pictured her spreading herself for him, moaning with pleasure as he filled her. He was once again surprised by his desire for her. He could hardly believe his need. He could not wait until nightfall to have her again. But did he have to wait until then?
“We’ve gone far enough for today,” he said, turning his stallion about.
